Agenda item

[To receive the LAC CAMHS Annual Report]

Dr Roberta Fry presented the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Looked After Children (LAC) Annual Report for the period April 2013 to March 2014. She drew to the attention of the Panel that the graph in respect of “referral Rate 2013/14” did not include data on ethnicity/gender etc. due to a change in the data recording system but offered to respond to any individual questions on that element of the report outside the meeting.

Cllr Paula Brookfield referred to the number of teenagers referred to the service and enquired as to whether earlier referrals would lead to a reduction in the number of on-going cases. Dr Fry explained that dealing with the LAC population was not as straightforward as dealing with mainstream cases inasmuch as the CAMHS was required to work within the care system. She reminded the Board that the majority of the LAC population were not subject to referral to CAMHS. The timeliness of a referral was a key issue but was also dependent on when the young person was ready to participate in the referral process. Cllr Paula Brookfield commended the concept of the “Agony Aunt” type column being made available on the website which the young people were likely to find a more accessible format for initial contact with CAMHS.

With regard to the Referral Rate, Cllr Dr Michael Hardacre enquired as to whether any comparisons on either a regional, national or family group basis were available in order to assist the Board in understanding the scale of the issue and the Council’s performance. Dr Fry advised that such information was not available and reminded the Board that not all authorities with Social Service responsibilities commissioned a dedicated service through CAMHS for LAC. He also referred to the “advantage of consultations to Social Work Team” section of the report and commented that it did not include any reference to consultations being undertaken with young people. He suggested that comparisons with other authorities on the approaches adopted would be helpful.

Cllr Martin Waite enquired as to the position with Care Leavers and whether they would be transferred into the mainstream service once they had left local authority care. He also enquired as to whether the Service engaged with the Children in Care Council (CCC). Dr Fry reported that the service worked with young people up to the age of 18 when they would be eligible to transfer to the mainstream mental service for support. In the majority of cases, however, the individual declined to continue to receive support. With regard to the CCC, she informed the Board that she attended meetings and intended to consult on the proposed “Agony Aunt” type column. Cllr Martin Waite enquired as to whether the CCC ever put forward ideas for consideration by CAMHS. Dr Fry advised that she was not aware of any suggestions having been made and this was such great reliance was placed on testimonials received. Cllr Martin Waite suggested that the period of transition between adolescent and adult services was likely to be difficult for the young person especially if the adult service practitioners were unaccustomed to dealing with LAC cases. Dr Fry responded that there was a need for a Group to be established in order that key mental health issues including the breakdown of family relationships could be addressed in transitional care planning.

Cllr Julie Hodgkiss reminded the Board that this particular service was not a statutory requirement but that the Council endeavoured to provide a service to those young people in its care. She suggested that there was a demonstrable need for performance management measures to ensure that the aims of service provision were achieved. Emma Bennett reported that the Council commissioned the service and that the service as a whole was being reviewed with a new specification being developed. Dr Fry advised that LAC were also able to access the mainstream CAMHS at the point of leaving care.

Cllr Paula Brookfield referred to a comment made during the presentation of the report inasmuch as there was likely to be an element of a reduced workload following the closure of residential units and enquired as to how this would arise given that the young people would still be in the care of the local authority. Dr Fry explained that in the event of any Out of City placements, the young people would fall under the care of the Host Authority and that it would no longer be necessary to conduct consultation exercises with the residential establishments. The Chair, Cllr Val Gibson, informed the Board that the intention was to recruit a number of specialist Foster Carers’ to look after those young people currently residing in residential accommodation. Dr Michael Hardacre suggested that the proposed position would be an improvement on the existing with the incidence of issues reduced. Emma Bennett reported that discussions were ongoing with CAMHS in relation to the support to be provided to the specialist Foster Carers’. Dr Fry concluded by reminding the Board that to some young people, residing in a residential unit was preferable to living with a family purely because of past experiences of family living.

Resolved:

That the report be received and noted and the best thanks of the Board be extended to Dr Roberta Fry and the CAMHS Team.